Evaluation of the forest management plan in Benin

In Benin, protected areas are the only places where the forestry services still maintain a minimum level of protection. It seems appropriate to evaluate the impact of the participatory management plan on the forest formations of the Monts Kouffé classified forest ten years after its implementation. To achieve this objective, a methodological approach was used that combined diachronic mapping of the forest cover, phytosociological and forest inventory, and socio-economic surveys of the local populations. The results showed a regression of forest formations such as gallery forests, dense dry forests and tree and shrub savannahs and an increase in open forests and wooded savannahs. The significance of the paired sample t-test at the 5% threshold between the diversity parameters on the one hand and between the structural parameters of 2004 and 2014 on the other hand, shows that the plant formations have been modified in time and space. In the opinion of the riparian populations, logging, livestock raising and carbonization are the main factors in this modification.